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My First Trip To Alton Towers!

When 2 of my closest friends told me that they were getting married at Alton Towers I was both nervous and excited. I have never been there before and never experienced any big roller coasters. I went to Euro Disney as a child, but didn't go on any of the bigger rides except for Indiana Jones. We had queued for ages and didn't realise there was a loop until we got to the front of the queue and it was too late to turn back!

I went through a mixture of emotions on the lead up to the big day, mainly pure terror at the thought of going on the rides. It isn't the rides themselves that scare me, but more the fear of something going wrong and me or anyone I am with falling out and dying, I have Final Destination 3 to thank for that! For a long time I have been refusing to even go on anything but as it drew closer I knew that if I didn't go on, I would regret it. Nick had done it all before and did nothing but reassure me, so I eventually agreed to try and get on everything that we did!

After the beautiful wedding ceremony at the hotel we all headed to the park itself. We decided to go on the run away train and the whole wedding party got on the train! With bride and groom on the front carriage we were off, and the first time around I was hating it and screaming the place down, much to everyone else's amusement! At first I felt like I was going to fall out due to the sharp twists and turns and only a bar across my lap. I soon realised it was safe though, and we ended up going around 3 times! Although it looks as though I was posing, this was the first time around and I was genuinely terrified!

With my confidence at a high we headed over the "The Smiler" Just to give you a bit of background, this is a record breaking ride. Ride time - 165 seconds, track length -1170 meters, maximum speed- 85km per hour, highest drop- 30 meters and world record holder for number of loops-14!!!

We got into the queue and were all stood in the dark with low lighting with visual illusions all around us with a freaky voice saying "it's time to begin your correction". We were right at the front of the queue when an announcement was made "Due to some technical difficulties the ride will be delayed", that was literally the last thing in the world that I ever wanted to hear, and this brought my panic flooding back. It didn't help that someone told me, as a joke, that it was because a persons harness came off! Eventually we all got in, and I really started to have a panic attack and was struggling to breath. My body was rigid with fear, too late now as we were off! We went straight into a pitch black tunnel and went upside down! The first corner after that I bashed my head on the side and gave myself whiplash! This didn't make for a very fun ride! It was terrifying with so many twists and turns, upside down rolls and loops. When I got off I think I turned delirious with frantic laughter, just like what we had been hearing over and over! We did get some great photos though, I think it shows my pure fear!

Sadly after this the heavens opened and it absolutely poured with rain. We sheltered inside and went on "Hex" which was based indoors. An optical illusion, mind bending ride that turned my stomach into knots!

The last ride of the day was Thirteen, by this point we were soaking wet and the rain was flying into our faces and felt like needles! Part of this ride was in tunnels and in the dark, but even so this was definitely my favourite ride of the day.

Now I have done it I wouldn't say that I am in any immediate hurry to do it again, but I did have a really good day. I can see now why people love it so much, as you get such a rollercoaster (excuse the pun!) of emotions from fear to pure adrenaline! It was a a shame that the weather turned on us and we didn't get to do any more than we did, but it was definitely a good day, and I can feel proud that I even attempted it!